Full text of Utah Utah Code § 17-73-101 — Definitions., with citation guidance and answers to common questions.
§ 17-73-101. Definitions.
Effective 11/6/2025 17-73-101.
Definitions. As used in this chapter:
(1)
(a)
"Accessory to a corner" means any exclusively identifiable physical object whose spatial relationship to the corner is recorded.
(b)
"Accessory to a corner" may include a bearing tree, bearing object, monument, reference monument, line tree, pit, mound, charcoal-filled bottle, steel or wooden stake, or another object.
(2)
"Approving authority" means the person required under applicable statute to submit to the lieutenant governor a notice of an impending boundary action, as defined in Section 67-1a-6.5.
(3)
(a)
"Boundary action" means any action that establishes, modifies, or eliminates the boundary of a local entity, including incorporation or creation, annexation, withdrawal or disconnection, consolidation, division, boundary adjustment, and dissolution.
(b)
"Boundary action" does not include the determination of the true location of a county boundary under Section 17-61-102.
(4)
(a)
"Construction" means:
(i)
the preparation of an area for a building or structure, including demolition, site clearance, exploration, drilling, boring, and excavation; and
(ii)
the carrying out of any building, civil engineering, or engineering work for the assembly or maintenance of any building or structure.
(b)
"Construction" does not mean normal maintenance of a roadway and related infrastructure that does not require construction drawings.
(5)
"Corner," unless otherwise qualified, means a property corner, a property controlling corner, a public land survey corner, or any combination of these.
(6)
"County surveyor" means:
(a)
the individual elected to the county office of county surveyor; or
(b)
in a county where there is no elected county surveyor:
(i)
for purposes of the retention and management of county survey records, the county recorder; or
(ii)
a licensed land surveyor under contract with the county to perform county surveyor duties.
(7)
"Federal survey" means a survey conducted under the authority of the United States.
(8)
"Final local entity plat" means a plat that meets the requirements to be approved in Section 17-73-507.
(9)
(a)
"Geographic coordinates" means mathematical values that designate a position on the earth relative to a given reference system.
(b)
"Geographic coordinates" shall be established in accordance with Title 57, Chapter 10, Utah Coordinate System.
(10)
"Government survey monument" means a monument that:
(a)
a government entity maintains; or
(b)
the county surveyor sets in accordance with Section 17-73-501.
(11)
"Local entity" means the same as that term is defined in Section 67-1a-6.5.
(12)
"Monument" means an accessory that is presumed to occupy the exact position of a corner.
(13)
"Professional land surveyor" means an individual who is licensed to practice land surveying in Utah in accordance with Title 58, Chapter 22, Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors Licensing Act.
(14)
"Property controlling corner" means a public land survey corner or any property corner which does not lie on a property line of the property in question, but which controls the location of one or more of the property corners of the property in question.
(15)
"Property corner" means a geographic point of known geographic coordinates on the surface of the earth, and is on, a part of, and controls a property line.
(16)
"Public land survey corner" means any corner actually established and monumented in an original survey or resurvey used as a basis of legal descriptions for issuing a patent for the land to a private person from the United States government.
(17)
"Public land survey government corner" means:
(a)
a corner that the county surveyor establishes or reestablishes under Section 17-73-201;
(b)
a section corner, quarter section corner, or other corner that a government survey establishes; or
(c)
a public land survey corner as that term is defined in Section 17-73-505.
(18)
"Reference monument" means a special monument that does not occupy the same geographical position as the corner itself, but whose spatial relationship to the corner is recorded and which serves to witness the corner.
(19)
"Structure" means any organization of parts, production, or pieces artificially built up or joined together to preserve or alter any natural feature, including roads, railways, tunnels, bridges, underground or overground pipelines or cables, river works, drainage works, earthworks, retaining walls, walls, dams, tanks, towers, and fences.
(20)
"Township" means a term used in the context of identifying a geographic area in common surveyor practice.
Section 17-73-101 ("Definitions.") is part of the Utah Code, the codified statutory law of Utah. It sets out the legal rule or procedure described in the text above. Statutes are amended regularly, so always verify against the official source.
How do I cite Utah § 17-73-101?
A common citation format is "Utah Code § 17-73-101" (Utah). Legal writing may require the code abbreviation, section number, and year or edition. Match the style required by your court, professor, or publisher.
Is this the official text of Utah law?
No. This page is for research and education and may not include the most recent amendments. For official current law, check the Utah official source linked on this page or consult a licensed Utah attorney.
How does Utah § 17-73-101 apply to my situation?
Statutes are interpreted in context, and application depends on your specific facts. Only a licensed attorney in Utah can advise on how this section applies to you. Contact your state or local bar association for a referral.
